Ignatian Spirituality in Everyday (ISEL) Team

Mission Statement

Rooted in Ignatian spirituality, the primary mission of the Ignatian Spirituality in Everyday Life Team (ISEL) is to provide opportunities for members of the parish to experience various aspects of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola.

These Spiritual Exercises are guidelines directed toward the graced development of an attentiveness to God actively at work in our lives and in the lives of others, and toward a deeper responsiveness to the mission of Christ Jesus in everyday life.
 
In a commitment to the Ignatian charisma, members of ISEL also serve the parish of St. Francis Xavier through seasonal retreat opportunities, and other prayerful programs, as well as collaborating with other parish groups for events that help foster an Ignatian sensibility, and an awareness of our Jesuit identity as a parish.

What Are the Spiritual Exercises of Loyola?

St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order, developed his Spiritual Exercises so that people could retreat for 30 days of prayer and silence to grow in their relationship with God and learn to listen for the voice of the Spirit in their lives. Eventually he also adapted these Exercises for people who could not, for various reasons, go away for 30 days. This adaptation, called the 19th Annotation invites people to go through the Exercises with the guidance of a spiritual director over a period of nine months, while continuing to live their daily lives.

ISEL team at the Church of St. Francis Xavier is a group of trained spiritual directors.  ISEL offers the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.  The 19 annotation is a profound, transformative retreat experience that can be made over a period of nine months in daily life. This is a very practical way to make the full Spiritual Exercises without going away to a retreat center for thirty days in silence.

Retreatants will be invited to:

1. Encounter the living God and God’s presence in creation, their personal life stories and current life circumstances.
2. Better discern their deepest desires to understand God’s call and presence in their lives and in the world.
3. Become Contemplatives in Action; experiencing and grasping more deeply the Ignatian vision of Finding God in All Things.

We begin in October and go through June (or as long as necessary for each person). Any one who applies is asked to fill out an application and be interviewed by phone or in person by one of the directors.

If you are accepted, you will make a commitment of an hour’s prayer daily and meet weekly with the spiritual director who will be you companion.

Please call or e-mail for information:

Marie Bannister (ISEL coordinator)  (917-301-2426) [email protected].

Gerry Moss (ISEL co-coordinator)  gerrymmoss@gmail.com.